Newsletter - 44th Edition - March 2008
Wednesday 12th December
The Sherry & Mince Pie evening was fantastic with 74 members in attendance.
The Hale & Hearties D.V.D. was very much appreciated by everyone. The carol singing was enjoyed by all, and our thanks go to Norman for his accompaniment on the Keyboard.
The raffle prizes this year were exceptional and once again we must thank our members for their generosity. The raffle raised a staggering £574.
Our ‘Tea Team’ did a grand job by keeping the members who were T-total well supplied with tea & coffee.
Thursday 21st February
Annual meal at the Eagle & Sun
An amazing 104 people were at the meal, which is the most support Hale & Hearties have ever had at any one time.
The members then went on to enjoy the ‘Cheese and Wine’ evening.
Special thanks must go to all the helpers who worked hard to put on such a lovely spread, and to the bar staff who kept the glasses full.
Group Meetings
The bi-monthly group meetings are on a Wednesday evening starting at 7.30 pm at Community House Easemore Road Redditch.
When there is a meeting the exercise class for that evening will be cancelled.
Wednesday 9th April
Ruth Pretty a nutritionist will talk to the group about what is and what isn’t good for us in eating terms; Linda Barratt will also be attending. They will both be answering any questions you may want to ask.
Wednesday 11th June
This is sure to be a very popular evenings because we are lucky enough to have Nisha Siddique a Cardiology Registrar to give us a presentation. Whenever we have a Doctor to talk to us we usually have a full house, as they are always very informative and interesting so please give Nisha a good turn out and a very warm welcome.
Wednesday 13th August
Sue Kelly will be talking about benefits, grants etc: We met Sue at the meeting in December when she accompanied Linda and Brian in leading the carol singing.
Air Ambulance
Jenny Ashman from the Air Ambulance gave a talk to the group on 8th August 07; she was overwhelmed with the generosity of our members. We have also been able to sell £300 worth of Air Ambulance Xmas cards to our members, which Jenny was delighted with and she would like to thank you all for your support.
Exercise classes
We would like to welcome all the new members to our exercise classes and group meetings. We have purchased steppers, cross trainers and bikes for the classes which the members are very pleased with. The classes are all very well supported with new members joining every class.
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Cardiology E.C.G. Dept:/Rehabilitation
In the last newsletter it was stated how the group was in a position, thanks to our members, to purchase a hydraulic couch and textbooks for the E.C.G. department at the Alex.
This is Julie Caulfield, Senior Chief Cardiac Physiologist standing by the couch, which Hale & Hearties donated.
We also purchased a radio/C.D. player for the rehab, which Jane & Linda was very grateful for.
N.H.S. aims to cut cardiac deaths with fish oil pills!
Thousand of heart attack sufferers are to be prescribed daily fish oil pills on the N.H.S., under guidelines published by the health watchdog NICE. The treatment, for the one in five people who have suffered a heart attack but cannot eat the recommended weekly amount of oily fish, is aimed at reducing the recurrence of heart attacks, which in the U.K. still lead to more than 103,000 deaths a year. The purified concentration of omega 3 acid ethyl esters has been shown in clinical trials to cut sudden cardiac deaths by 43%. Up to 40.000 people a year could be eligible at the cost of £7m.
Speak to your G.P. as some practices are prescribing it.
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A Friend is one who knows all about you and likes you anyway.
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Cardiology Department. E.C.G.
The group has once again been able to help out The Alexandra Hospital Cardiology Department (E.C.G.) by donating a hydraulic couch and training reference books.
We have received a letter from Julie Caulfield, Senior Chief Cardiac Physiologist, thanking Hale & Hearties for their help and support, as these items have made such a difference to the comfort of the patients and the members of staff performing the investigations. She has asked us to pass on her thanks to all our members.
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Why is Christmas like a day in the office?
Because you do all the work and the man in the suit gets all the credit.
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Website
The new website will be updated soon; we are in the process of putting together all the events for the year and some links that will be very useful to our members.
British Heart Foundation
The B.H.F. is a very good website, it is always up to date, user friendly and provides a wide range of information for people with heart disease and their families, as well as professionals.
www.bhf.org.uk.
Statins
When should I take my statin?
The best time to take statins is in the evening, because more cholesterol is produced while you sleep. However the most important thing with all medicines is to take them regularly.
If bedtime is not convenient for you, don’t worry.
Do I need to avoid any other foods or other drugs when taking statins?
Other drugs may interfere with statins, so if you experience symptoms after changing or getting a new medicine you should report it to your doctor. Subtle changes to your prescription may fix if. Grapefruits whole and juiced contain a compound that blocks the breakdown of some statins and should therefore be avoided.
The Way Children See Things.
Ketchup – A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup to come out of the Jar. During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer the phone. “It’s the vicar Mummy” the child said to her mother. Then she added down the phone “Mummy can’t talk to you just now, she’s hitting the bottle.”
Bad luck.
One of our members has told us he has had really bad luck with both of his wives, the first one left him and the second one hasn’t.
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